Pens at Caps Grades
Mike Adams | Grade "A" Reviews
Mar 10, 08:47 AM | Hype this story!
“Did he shoot that into his own net?”
Offense: B
It was the worst of times. It was the best of times. That seems to be a recurring theme with this team anymore, as they again failed to put in a solid 60-minute effort. I guess I shouldn’t imply that it was a lack of effort though. That really wasn’t the case. They just couldn’t generate any offense the first two periods, garnering only 13 shots against a poor defensive team. The forecheck/cycle game was again deficient. They did get one goal off a beautiful three-on-two by the Malkin line with Taffe subbing for Malone. It ended with Sykora putting a changeup past Cristobol Huet. But they really didn’t generate many chances at all the first two periods. They suddenly awakened in a dominant third period. They couldn’t beat Huet despite several great chances. With under a minute to go, Sid tried something unique. Instead of passing it to Dupuis, who would have fired it wide anyway, he decided to give it to Nicklas Backstrom. The Cap rookie stunned Huet by firing a twisted wrister into his own net for the game-winner, or loser, depending on how you look at it. Malkin unselfishly set up Jordan Staal for the empty netter to ice it.
Defense: C
Same story here. The Pens got dominated the first two periods, and only Fleury’s brilliance had them deadlocked going to the third. It was not a strong defensive effort until the final period. The Pens seemed like they were on their heels. They were allowing the Caps to come through the neutral zone far too easily. That, in turn, led to them backing in as the Caps attacked. Fleury was forced to make numerous key saves to keep the Caps off the scoresheet at even strength. But in the third period, the Pens turned it around, figuring the best defense is a good offense. The Caps didn’t mount much of an attack at all as fatigue might have set in. And as Edzo so astutely pointed out, “when you’re tired, fatigue happens.” The Pens allowed only five shots in the third, and did the job at the other end.
Power play: C
The PP continues to struggle. They didn’t officially get a power play goal, though they did score two seconds after a Sergei Fedorov penalty had expired, meaning it was essentially a power play goal. But it was one of the few flurries they had while up a man. Same old story, too. They are just not putting the puck on the net. On their five power plays, they generated only five shots that didn’t test Huet all that severely. It was pass, pass, pass, nobody in front. I stand by my idea of last week that was echoed by Joe Starkey of the Trib yesterday. Have two equal units. One would be Sid, Hossa, Staal; the other would be the Malkin line. Then you just alternate point guys with the two units.
Penalty kill: C
Well, I guess we see why Orpik had been banned from penalty killing. Twice, he took penalties while they were already short a man. The Caps scored on one of the 5-on-3 chances and scored another while just Orpik was in the box. Now, granted, both were highly debatable calls, but you have to know that when Paul Devorski is reffing, everything will be debatable. Just stupid on Orpik’s part. On the first goal, they somehow ended up with three forwards killing the penalty after Sykora returned to the ice. Just an idiotic move by Therrien, as the faceoff happened with only 11 seconds left in Sykora’s penalty. No excuse for not putting two defensemen out there. Because of the confusion, Alex Semin waltzed right through the box and fired a shot that Brooks Laich deflected in. The Caps followed this up with a 5-on-3 goal. Semin shot from almost along the goal line and somehow got it by Fleury on the short side. The Pens were under constant attack while shorthanded, but helped themselves by blocking a fair number of shots.
Goaltending: A-
It would have been an A, except for a couple reasons. First, the Semin goal was rather weak. Second, and more importantly, Fleury’s rebound control was awful. He forced himself to make many second saves by not being able to corral the puck. This continues to be a huge concern. But other than that, he was brilliant, and again stole two points. He kept them in the game when they were continually shorthanded the first two periods. He made one huge save after another, stoning Alex Ovechkin on each of his 10 shots. He was at his acrobatic best yesterday, though he wasn’t quite as in control as he needs to be. But the bottom line is, he stopped the puck often enough to win.
Overall: B+
This was a gutsy win. They didn’t play particularly well for two periods, but stormed back in the third to play one of their best periods of the year. It was a huge win for a team that has not played very well in recent weeks. Hopefully, they will now get that “playoff feeling” that I think has been lacking lately. They have kind of been in a funk, and the excitement of this game seemed to awaken them.
And now, the rest of the story…
Prime Time Sid: A
Two NBC games, two game-winning, game-ending goals. No wonder they want him to be the face of the league.
Ryan Whitney: F
He stunk out loud. I would guess that the majority of the times he had the puck on his stick, it ended up in the possession of the Caps. He was just brutal, like a deer in headlights. I have been a defender of his most of the year, but there is do defense for the way he played yesterday.
Sergei Gonchar: C
Sorry, but as we near the playoffs, this is the highest grade I can ever bring myself to give him until he proves he can step it up in the playoffs. He was matched against Ovechkin all day, and AO put 10 shots on goal. He passed up a glorious chance in the slot to pass to Malkin, who was in the corner. But hey, he logged a lot of minutes and kept Ovechkin off the goal sheet. That’s at least something.
Hal Gill: A
He’s looking better and better. He is not standing out as being terrible anymore, and that’s all you can ask.
No-look back passes: F
Somebody please explain to me what Geno was doing when, on a delayed penalty, he just blindly passed the puck backwards, out of the zone. Thankfully, it didn’t have enough steam to make it into his own net. But gawd, what a dumb play.
Playoff style hockey: A
Man, I can’t wait for April. This one had playoffs written all over it. Both teams really wanted it.
The Genius: F
For the aforementioned PK screwup. You just can’t have things like that.
Brooks Orpik: C
Two dumb penalties, but he was hitting anything that moved. He actually is playing well with Gonchar right now, and that’s a shock.
Changeups: A
Former Pirate pitching coach Ray Miller’s mantra was “work fast. Throw strikes. Change speeds.” It worked. And it worked for Petr Sykora when he put that changeup past Huet.
Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game
Well, it was a Devorski game, which means the entire thing is a huh?. He is the master of the random penalty generator. It ridiculous to absurd at times. The first call on Orpik was probably justified, as he did slash a Cap. But how many times do you see ticky-tack crap like that called when you are already down a man? The second Orpik call was ridiculous. He just shouldered the Cap, and maybe came up slightly high. But that stuff was happening on every play, and the ass-clown just had to make himself the story by calling it at that juncture. But the topper had to be in the waning minutes, when AO broke into the zone against Gonchar. Sarge clearly tripped AO, but the buffoons just closed their eyes. Unbelievable. You know, on Hockey Night in Canada’s Hot Stove the other night, they said the NHL is worried because so many veteran refs like McCreary, Fraser, and Devorski are nearing retirement. They are worried, why? These clowns refuse to abide by the standards of the new NHL and act as if they are free to call the games however they see fit. The league will be better without the majority of the senior citizen refs.
Icehole of the Game
Ovechkin, for taking another run at Malkin. What is up with that? Hitting is one thing. Trying to destroy is quite another.
Monk Moment
Sid scoring the game winner without shooting it.
And a new, one-time award…
Steve Smith Award
Why, Nicklas Backstrom, of course, for shooting the puck into his own net. If you are new to hockey lore, just go here and read all about Smith’s exploits. Or view it here
A Guide to the Grades can be found here
Comments
Tom
Mar 10, 02:16 PM
Mike: Gill looks decent when playing with Letang who has the speed and agility to cover for Gill’s slow skating. At least Gill can eject opposing forwards from the crease, a talent he shares with only Orpik and Letang among Penguin defensemen. Many of the Pen’s penalty killing problems arise from playing Gonchar, Whitney and Sydor while short a man. Gonchar and Whitney are just awful and Sydor cannot clear the crease. He hits like a granny lady. I just shudder each time he and Whitney are on the ice during a PK when Orpic, Gill and Letang are available. Pourquoi?
Michael
Mar 10, 05:59 PM
What happenned to the “reward system” .. ??
After that Panthers game, MT starts Fleury .. ??!! That’s a total contradiction of MT’s self-proclaimed “reward system” philosophy.
Regardless .. Therrien is MESSING WITH Conklin, and this is unacceptable. Conklin is being shafted, and this is just criminal. Conklin should be the unquestioned No. 1 goalie and should be treated as such. The guy has the best G-damn save percentage in the entire League !! He’s the main reason (along with Malkin) the Penguins were able to rise through the standings this season to this point in time. So, now he gets messed with. This really angers me.
Fleury should be the backup at this point .. case closed. Fleury has not improved after starting over 150 NHL games. He’s still terrible with rebounds. He’s weak mentally, as a goalie. He still tends to allow soft goals. He still goes down too soon.
If Fleury starts the playoffs .. mark my word .. Conklin will have to step-in to try to save our ass__if__MT can even bring himself to make the necessary change. But at that point, with Conklin having been messed-with to such an extent, he might be unable to perform at the level he did during this regular season, anyway.
We would need to sign Conklin before the 1st of July .. but the way he’s being treated by Therrien, there’s no way that’ll happen. And that’s a disgrace. We’re actually setting ourselves up (thanks to Therrien’s stupidity and irrationality) to lose Conklin after this season, regardless of what happens in the playoffs. Damnit !!
Matt Bodenschatz
Mar 10, 07:04 PM
Tom, the defense is definitely an issue. Let’s hope the offense scores enough points once Hossa returns that there is a nice buffer zone there in most games.
Michael, not to be rude, but do you care about anything but Conklin? Seriously, we get your point, you like Conklin, you hate Fleury, you hate Therrien. I think it’s a bit difficult to argue against Fleury when he’s winning games…but that’s just me.
Ashley Gallant
Mar 10, 07:04 PM
Michael – I have one question for you. If you were in Ray Shero’s shoes and had the power to sign these two goalies – Conklin’s a UFA and I believe Fleury is an RFA – would you sign Conklin to a big contract and tell Fleury that he was going to be the backup?
I believe that if Conklin becomes the absolute, unquestionable number one guy in Pittsburgh, the Penguins will lose Fleury this summer. MAF will sign an offer sheet elsewhere and the Pens will be unable to match that offer.
Are you really that comfortable in saying that Conklin is a top-tier goalie, a franchise goalie? Will you hand over the reigns to a goalie who has played well for the Penguins thus far, but who is 32 years old and has never ‘made it’ in hockey (prior to December)? Will you cut loose a promising 23-year-old goalie who had a 40-16-9 record last season and has a better GAA and SV% this season?
I just don’t understand your absolute anger over the way Michel Therrien is handling the situation.
Ashley Gallant
Mar 10, 07:08 PM
..and I don’t mean to sound like I’m going to argue with you to the ends of the Earth. I guess I just don’t see how Fleury starting is such a big problem. To me, it all makes sense…but then again, that’s just me.
dale
Mar 10, 07:49 PM
You can give gonchar all the c’s and f’s you want but i don’t recall him every shooting the puck into his own net
Ashley Gallant
Mar 10, 07:59 PM
Copied and pasted from Wikipedia
“Sergei Gonchar, another NHL defenseman who not only deflected his own unpressured outlet pass off the back of Olaf Kolzig’s skate on November 14, 2003 while a member of the Washington Capitals, but redirected an opposition player’s cross-ice pass five-hole on Marc-Andre Fleury on November 13, 2006, almost three years to the day, as a Pittsburgh Penguin.”
rod-man
Mar 11, 06:13 AM
Whitney has been VERY bad..and to top it off on the power play??? Time to call Goose (Goly) up for good,get him some more minutes and use him for the reason we drafted him…POWRERPLAY time..he will help turn the Pens powerplay into one of the best in hockey..mark my words..the experience he picks up thee rest of this year will pay off big time next year!!
DaBich
Mar 11, 07:58 AM
Michael, it’s time for you to give credit where credit is due. Fleury has WON games. He has stopped tons of shots, just like Conks. I also would have STARTED Conks, but Fleury was chosen, and he won, and he deserves credit. Period.
I want to make another point here. Does anyone else see a major problem coming with Malkin? I think he’s slumping badly since Sid came back, and I’m worried. He constantly gave the puck away, and was just in general, terrible. The pass to Staal was generous, I will say that. Does anyone think he needs a confidence booster of some type???
Matt Bodenschatz
Mar 11, 08:08 AM
Rod-man, first things first, the powerplay is the fourth best in the NHL, clicking at 20.4 percent. Sure, it has it’s ups and downs, but the big picture has shown this portion of special teams to be a very strong point for the team.
As for Whitney, he certainly has been bad. Real bad. But suggesting Goligoski, who has a whopping two games under his belt, is a better player than Whitney is is a difficult assumption to make at this point. The Penguins have six defensemen right now and seven when Scuderi comes back, meaning one of the current six will be required to sit. Adding Goligoski to the mix would mean sitting another of the current six. I’m not sure that’s all that smart. The defense, despite its woes, has gotten the Penguins into fourth place in the East with the second most points in the East. Unless there is an injury, I see no reason to fall back on a player with next to no experience — even with Whitney’s extreme bad play of late.
rod-man
Mar 11, 08:56 AM
Matt…NEVER said Goly was BETTER then Whitney..just think that with Scuds out of the lineup for awhile i would be a GREAT chance to get Goly more games under his belt in case we have a few injuries in the playoffs..yes,some of the D has been playing better latley but with 8 D at WBS i think it would be smart for the Pens to PREPARE a little bit more in case of injuries and would not be bad to give some of the regular D a nite off to rest up a little for the LONG playoff run!!
Matt Bodenschatz
Mar 11, 09:52 AM
Dabich, Malkin hasn’t looked the same, but I am not sure I’d refer to it as a slump — after all, he was named the number one star Sunday by finishing with three assists — though one was a gimme via the empty net. I think what we’re seeing is a player who has tired and needs a slight break. With this week being slow, I expect him to come out strong.
Rod-man, my apologies for misinterpreting your original comment. I too would agree that giving GoGo, as they call him, a few games just in case he needs to be relied upon in the playoffs. I don’t think it will happen, though.
DaBich
Mar 11, 11:37 AM
Matt, I hope you’re right and he’s not feeling “slighted” with all the attention being given to Sid. Time shall tell!
Matt Bodenschatz
Mar 11, 12:14 PM
I’m not saying his play isn’t partly due to Crosby’s return — but I definitely think he’ll return to form soon. Like I said, a three assist day Sunday earned him the number one star, and he’s got a scoring title to win. He knows this — and he knows that if he wins that title, he’ll be looked at much differently next season than he has been this season.
Michael
Mar 11, 05:04 PM
Ashley ..
Yes .. I would sign Conklin this summer, and I’m sure the Penguins would easily be able to match any offer-sheet that any team might throw at Fleury, and I’d welcome the pick or couple of picks. He wouldn’t get any kind of really big money offer from anyone, anyway. Yes .. I’d let it be known that Conklin would be my No.1 going into next season.
You know .. 32 isn’t old for a goalie. Not in the least.
The “40 wins” thing last season, is not really that significant. The team won a bunch of games on shootouts thanks to Christensen last season, for one thing .. and the offense was much more prolific last season than anyone expected.
Fleury simply hasn’t shown any real improvement after starting over 150 NHL games. His rebound-control, for example, is no better than it was 4 or 5 years ago. Pucks are just bouncing off of him out into the slot all the time!
He’s still skittish .. mentally weak, as a goalie. He just hasn’t shown any (positive) consistency. He still tends to let in soft goals. He still tends to go down too soon. He has a few games where he squeaks-by and wins, but then he falls apart. I just can’t see him putting together a long, solid stretch of stellar play such as Conklin did.
Now; is it possible that Fleury could all-of-a-sudden get it all together? Yes. And that’s the gamble I would take, at this stage (if he accepts an offer-sheet) .. rather than losing Conklin this summer.
DaBich
Mar 12, 07:42 AM
::sigh::
Fleury wouldn’t get any kind of big money offer from anyone??? Are you nuts?
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